Bob Junge, VP Airport Solutions and Mark Libby, PASSUR ATC Specialist (read Bob and Mark’s bios here) discussed how airports, airlines and the FAA have evolved their best practices to deal with the extensive disruptions that construction projects have on aviation operations.

Many of the practices and software solutions described in the webinar did not start life as construction-focused – they started as snow and deicing focused, and evolved into new forms. The snow and deicing model lent itself so readily to construction management, the common elements in all the scenarios, due to the need to manage around a severe constraint in capacity at the airport – whether that capacity constraint is caused by a snowstorm, planned outage for construction, or a sudden emergency event.

Challenges for our Industry, and New Approaches for Solutions

As fewer new runways (let alone new airports) are built, rehabilitation of existing infrastructure is critical – but it has to be done within the context of growing demand. How to minimize impacts to capacity while improving infrastructure.

Optimize individual operations on a common operating platform: as each player seeks to optimize their individual piece of the aviation landscape, it is much more efficient and ultimately benefits all if they are using common data, predictive analytics, NAS visualization, and decision support tools.

Coordinate effectively on a common communications platform – all stakeholders, the public, etc., are under more scrutiny than ever. They must collaborate and communicate throughout the project. Getting the right information to the right parties at the right time.

Collaborate to manage complex, expensive operations on a common collaboration platform: optimize available capacity during construction through common operating procedures like departure metering and sequencing.

Example of the JFK Runway Project:

Longest runway at JFK out of service for four months (30% reduction in runway capacity)